In the packaging of sliced meat products, such as bacon or the like, it has become common practice to support the slices in a shingled array on a stiffening packaging element. In the subsequent process of vacuum sealing, the packaging element and product are enclosed in plastic films, the entire package is evacuated by a vacuum means, and the films are heat sealed together to close the package. In the finished package, commonly referred to as a vacuum package, the plastic films conform to the combination of the stiffening packaging element and the shingled array of product. Typical packages and packaging elements in the prior art are shown by the following U.S. design and utility patents:
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 235,974
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 250,173
U.S. Pat. No. 2,929,724
U.S. Pat. No. 2,963,215
U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,283
U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,597
U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,598
U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,384
U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,332
U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,260
Conventional stiffening packaging elements are of two general types. In the first type, the packaging element has a full size supporting bottom panel and a substantially smaller top retaining panel. This type is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5 of the above cited U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,332. The second type of packaging element has both a full size supporting bottom panel and a full size retaining top panel.
This invention is a new stiffening packaging element of the second type, having both a full size supporting bottom panel and a full size retaining top panel.